Europe Heatwave Breaks Records Across Germany and Italy
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Denmark registered its highest temperature on record at 36.6C north of Odense, the warmest day since national measurements began in 1874
- Germany hit a preliminary all-time high of 41.3C near Saarbrücken on Friday, with the national meteorological service forecasting local highs of 42C on Saturday and issuing extreme heat warnings across nearly the entire country
- Italy's health ministry issued red alerts for 18 cities including Milan, Rome, Venice, Florence, Turin, Genoa, and Bologna, with temperatures expected to reach 39C
- Britain recorded six drownings during the heatwave including a teenager, two men, and a woman on Saturday, on top of at least 15 water-related deaths during May's earlier heatwave
- Scientists said the heatwave would have been virtually impossible without human-made climate change, which has made this week's night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been two decades ago
- Deutsche Bahn allowed free cancellation of long-distance bookings into next week as sun exposure, thunderstorms, and wildfires strained its signals, tracks, and overhead wires
- Heat damage closed a main traffic lane on Germany's A7 autobahn near Hamburg after the asphalt split, while organizers shortened the cycling and running courses at Frankfurt's Ironman European championship
Why it matters: The heatwave pushed temperatures up to 18C above seasonal averages and shattered national records in at least four countries, exposing how Europe's infrastructure — from Deutsche Bahn's rail network to highways and housing built to retain heat rather than withstand it — is buckling under conditions scientists link directly to climate change.
